Tony Draws a Horse (1950) User Reviews

"I don't agree with your viewpoint but I will defend your right top say it" (Voltaire)

[howardmorley · 5/10 · 19 June 2016]

A very mediocre film from what was originally a stage play.Consequently we have actors talking quickly non-stop, not listening to logical reason, overacting like mad, and saying the most diabolical rubbish.The only character with whom I had any sympathy was that of Anne Crawford who wanted a divorce and to get away from her overbearing. pompous husband Howard, (Cecil Parker).I was disappointed not to see the horse drawn by young Tony Fleming which was after all was the title of the film.From certain veiled comments it seems young Tony drew a too accurate biological picture of the reproductive organs of the beast but the film producers were too pusillanimous to show this to the viewers.Of course there was censorship in 1950 when the film was made and they had to get the film passed by the censors for family viewing.

The most irritating character was that of Mrs Parsons (Barbara Everest) who tried to boss everyone around to her narrow blinkered, ill educated views and did not listen to alternative comments especially from her daughter (played by Barbara Murray) and sundry other members of her family & friends.She reminded me of Marjorie Fielding's character, Mildred Royd in "Quiet Weekend" (1946).Her character betrayed a naive stupidity.The famous statement in my summary title by Voltaire was apt, since the almost revolutionary disagreements by characters with their differing philosophies caused mild humour.The IMDb rating of 5.5 seems fair and I too gave it 5/10.

Tony Draws a Horse

[CinemaSerf · 5/10 · 27 December 2022]

I like Cecil Parker, and he made quite a few good films with Mervyn Johns. Sadly, though, this isn't really one of them. It comes across as a rather hastily adapted version of Lesley Storm's pretty unremarkable play with him playing a doctor who falls out with wife "Clare" (Anne Crawford) over the best way to bring up their rather precocious young son "Tony" (Anthony Lang) - who has a habit on drawing on any flat surface he can find. The last straw comes when he draws an anatomically accurate horse (which we never see) and his father flips his lid.... The gist of the film is the parents' overly contrived falling out that develops, via a series of stroppy conversations and mis-communication to lead them to split and to consider divorce before their child's behaviour finally succeeds is forcing an alignment of their attitudes to discipline... It's not rubbish, but the talents of Johns and Parker are wasted on this rather static, clunky effort that I'm glad I sat through, but I don't think I could recommend to anyone.

Tony draws a blank

[malcolmgsw · 3/10 · 29 January 2018]

If you want to know why the Rank Organisation was in trouble and cinema attendance's on the beginning of their steady decline you only have to look at this film.Compare it with Born Yesterday or All About Eve to realise how far ahead where the Americans in filming this type of film.This film is dreadfully dull and lacks any wit.Edward Rugby stood out for me in a good but I'll served cast.If you have insomnia just start watching this before you aim to go to sleep.

Talk is cheap!

[JohnHowardReid · 1/10 · 22 September 2017]

Directed by JOHN PADDY CARSTAIRS. Written and produced by Brock Williams. In charge of production: Harold Richmond. Director of photography: Jack Hildyard. Art director: Bernard Robinson. Film editor: Gerald Thomas. Assistant film editor: Roddy Keys. Sound recordists: John S. Dennis and Gordon McCallum. Assistant director: Basil Keys. Camera operator: Russell Thompson. Dress designer: Eleanor Abbey. Make-up supervisor: George Blackler. Music composed and conducted by Bretton Byrd. Hair styles: Biddy Chrystal. Set continuity: Tilly Day.

Not copyright in the U.S.A. A Pinnacle Production, presented by J. Arthur Rank. New York opening at the Park Avenue: 14 May 1951. U.S. release through Fine Arts: 31 May 1951. U.K. release through General Film Distributors: 21 August 1950. Australian release through British Empire Films: 8 March 1952. 8,163 feet. 91 minutes. Censored by approximately half-a-minute in Australia.

SYNOPSIS: A psychiatrist (mother) and doctor (father) disagree on their son's upbringing. Mother causes havoc by returning to her family and taking her sister's fiancé off to France on the eve of the wedding.

COMMENT: Talk, talk, talk, its few jokes utterly buried under a triple mound of persiflage, this stage play by Lesley Storm, as verbosely scripted by producer Brock Williams and pedestrianly directed by John Paddy Carstairs, is just one great big bore.

The actors seem to think they can make the dullest lines funny by shouting at the top of their voices. They are mistaken.

OTHER VIEWS: Talkative, stagey, quite entertaining comedy on the Quiet Wedding model. — Monthly Film Bulletin.

Comical to-do expands smartly as it goes.

[rsoonsa · 7/10 · 10 November 2001]

An engrossing and artful comedy, TONY DRAWS A HORSE is an account of the marital struggles of Howard and Clare Fleming (Cecil Parker/Anne Crawford), a physician and child psychologist who are parents of a greatly difficult package: eight-year-old Tony. The boy's penchant for painting pictures on doors and walls is an outgrowth from his mother's determination that he have complete freedom of expression, and is largely the cause of his being ejected from various boarding schools, and since his doctor father, played splendidly by Parker, is a believer in traditional discipline, the marriage of the two founders. The various elements of an elaborate script by journeyman Brock Williams, who also produces from Lesley Storm's hit play, are well woven by director John Paddy Carstairs, and snappily edited by Gerald Thomas, whose frenetic bent was later channeled into his direction of the Carry On series. It would be difficult to provide a more appropriate cast, with Parker, a master of comedic timing, and the ill-starred Crawford supported by the capable Mervyn Johns and Barbara Everest as Clare's parents, and Derek Bond as her sister's soon-to-be benedict, with the entourage gently plumbing the potential of this wide-ranging English farce.